Need help seperating rhythm and lead guitars...

[dill_the_devil]

I'm guessing this has been done before, but I'm really struggling with getting my rhythm and lead guitar tracks to sound good together - they keep turning into a sort of indistinguishable distorty noise. I'm using 4 tracks of rhythm guitar, with the gain really low on each seperate track so they're not muddy but fatten up nicely, panned in the mix 100% left + 100% right, 55% left + 55% right. I tried adding two track of lead guitar - a little more crunch, a boost in the mids, panned 75% left + 75% right, but it sounds crappy.

How can I get clear, distinct rhythm and lead parts, separate and distinguishable from one another? Compression, EQ, what can I do here?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[006]

Usually it's best for leads to go right up the middle, or 0%. Thats how I get mine to stand out. Always works for me, whatever style I'm doing. Also, it helps to have different distortions for the leads and rhythms, which you already did, with the addition of mids. The rhythm guitars could also be affecting the leads if it's still not clear after moving the leads to right in the middle, if thats the case, try moving the two 55% LR rhythms a little further out, probably 75% or so. I'm not a pro or anything, but this is how I do it and it always works...wouldn't hurt to try, right? Yep.

~006

 

[dill_the_devil]

Thanks 006, I'll give those tips a shot and see how it works out! Maybe if I have my two tracks of lead at like 10% left and 10% right, boost the mids a tad more, and possibly cut back on the gain so it doesn't grind as much... Cheers!

 

[TheDarkProject]

In my very limited experience, I've had some success on this front by cutting the rhythms a bit at about 2KHz and boosting the leads at that point by about the same amount. It rarely hurts to roll off the lower frequencies on the leads either, unless perhaps you're doing a lot of bassy lead work (eg. My Dying Bride harmonies). A bit of chorus on the lead also adds a little crispness to it that further pulls it away from the rhythms, but that may not suit your song.

 

[LynchpiN]

I try to EQ the lead guitars just like I EQ vocals. So, I boost around 250 and 2500 Hz, cutting some low end. It cuts fine to me most of the time - but the EQ depends a lot on how you recorded it.
But the basics are: if you cutted it off the rhythm, boost it on the leads. Works if you want a good separation.